What’s one habit that has improved your life the most?
One habit that has improved my life the most is reading. I used to read back in my college days, and then my priorities changed. Initially, I was focused on getting a job, which was hard in 2010, as the effects of the recession were still there. Once I got the job, I was occupied in learning my work and gaining the needed technical knowledge.
When I came to the USA in 2016, I found the perfect work-life balance. For the first time since 2010, I got personal time on a normal weekday. Otherwise, the only time I got was on weekends. I started biking, walking, and going to the gym in my free time. My elder sister read a lot, and she suggested that I start reading again.
On her advice, I took up this hobby again, and soon I started to love reading. Over the years, I have read lots of books, and I am not a fan of particular genres; I love reading. I read fiction, nonfiction, horror, thriller, sci-fi, spiritual, self-help, philosophy and classics. I think only genre I never explored is poetry.
I read Kafka, Premchand, Manto, Debdutta Pattanaik, Chaturasen, Orwell, Grisham, Stephan King, H. G. Wells, J.K. Rowling, and so many other brilliant authors. I feel blessed to read their work.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” — George R.R. Martin
This quote by R.R. Martin is so accurate, by reading you live so many lives. Reading is so amazing that you live someone’s years of experience and work in a few sittings. You live that work with your own imagination, and you get wiser and more mature with each book you complete.
I honestly feel bad for those who don’t read because they don’t know what they are missing. This is the most wonderful gift from one human being to another. Whatever maturity and wisdom I attained so far, these books play a vital role in it.
Few books I would like to mention
- Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
- Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
- Pet Sematary by Stephen King
- Somnath by Acharya Chatursen
- Animal Farm & 1984 by George Orwell
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Currently, I am reading “The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden after watching the movie adaptation on the flight last month. If you love reading, I would appreciate some good book suggestions.
Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!
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